Training, for the benefit of actors in the pineapple sector in Côte d'Ivoire, on the technical itinerary, packaging and processing, with a view to the competitiveness of the sector, opened on Wednesday in Grand-Bassam, at 40 Km southeast of Abidjan.

This training, organized by the Support Project for Strengthening the Competitiveness of the Industrial Sector (PARSCI), and which concerns producers, exporters and salespeople, takes place over two days, on October 21 and 22, 2020.

According to the representative of PARSCI, Sylla Lamine, the human resources manager, this project, financed by the African Development Bank (ADB) and the State of Côte d'Ivoire, aims to support the competitiveness of companies in the industrial sector.

The Support Project for Strengthening the Competitiveness of the Industrial Sector (PARSCI), he specified, was notably created to "compensate for a certain number of shortcomings in the mango and pineapple sectors".

In addition to this, PARSCI supports support for the implementation of the Industrial Competitiveness Development Agency in Côte d'Ivoire and also supports pineapple and mango export structures.

The training of these actors, which today focused on "good hygiene practices in planting, harvesting, at the packing station and in the processing unit", was entrusted to the Standard Audit Office (BNA): 15 participants took part in this session.

These different trainings should make it possible to "master the techniques for improving productivity, the production and raw material value chain", indicated Daniel Koffi, director of the BNA's agricultural studies and audits department.

The training topics also cover the marketing of the product, but also hygiene at all stages of pineapple production and processing, he said.

The audit office carried out an inventory, as a prelude to the organization of these training sessions for actors in the pineapple sector, the general objective of which was to identify the real training needs of these actors, underlined Mr. Daniel Koffi.

"To do this, we used the documentary review and a field survey, which allowed us to have quality data from 64 units (cooperatives and individuals)," he added.

The problems plaguing the sectors were then defined. As a result, the training should help improve the technical skills of the actors with a view to better developing the sector.

PARSCI supports stakeholders in the pineapple sector through capacity building and the use of new techniques. Because, Côte d'Ivoire, which was in pole position a few years ago, is today "in free fall" in terms of production, mentioned Mr. Sylla Lamine.

The Standard Audit Office is the first certification body in West and Central Africa ISO 17065 for the assessment of conformity and agricultural products according to the Globalgap standard.

It is also ISO 17021 accredited for the assessment of the conformity of management systems according to international standards ISO 9001 and 22000. Its support should allow the pineapple sector to be competitive with products that meet international standards.